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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-06-27 Daily Xml
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Condolence

Cashmore, Hon. J.L.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:00): By leave, I move:

That the House of Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of the Hon. Jennifer Lilian Cashmore AM, former member of the House of Assembly and minister of the Crown, and places on record its appreciation of her long and meritorious service, and that as a mark of respect to her memory the sitting of the house be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

I rise to pay tribute to Jennifer Cashmore. Upon Jennifer Cashmore's election in 1977 as the Liberal member for the seat of Coles, now the seat of Morialta, she immediately made history as only the third woman to be elected to the South Australian House of Assembly, an extraordinary achievement in its own right. Jennifer Cashmore would go on to be the second ever female minister in the South Australian cabinet, with the portfolios of health and tourism in the Tonkin Liberal government. In fact, for much of her political career she was the only woman representing her party, for 12 of her 16 years in this place.

But in this chamber she was no shrinking violet. The member for Coles was always guided by her deeply held Liberal principles even when it put her at odds with her party and government. In 1988, she sensationally crossed the floor to support Labor's proposed ban on tobacco advertising, making national headlines at the time for a declaration that, in her opinion, cigarettes should be sold only by pharmacies in brown paper bags. The acrimonious debate over the legislation was noteworthy for lasting until 2am, but the member for Coles remained until the bitter end despite not only nursing a broken ankle at the time but the not insignificant fact that she had a wedding to attend the following day—her own.

Her love for the state was matched by grand policy vision for its betterment. She was an early and vocal champion of hydrogen as a clean future fuel and among the very first to advocate for South Australia establishing a solar-powered hydrogen industry. In her 1991 essay 'The best opportunity under the sun', she described the potential SA hydrogen economy as unlocking the state's potential to a degree comparable with Thomas Playford's establishment of the state grid, writing:

The disadvantage that we suffer of being the driest state in the driest continent could turn out to be our greatest benefit if only we are willing to turn it into our advantage...with our desert at our doorstep and the sun shining on us almost every day.

It was her enthusiastic support for such ideas that saw her dubbed the 'green conscience' of the South Australian Liberal Party. So passionate was Jennifer Cashmore about preserving the unspoiled wilderness of the Flinders Ranges that she threatened to lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent a development at her beloved Wilpena Pound. She also celebrated Wilpena in verse, declaring that:

These gorges deep, these crags so high, this ancient land and wild,

All those who love it dearly will not see it defiled.

I also wish to acknowledge that as shadow treasurer Jennifer Cashmore was the first to raise questions in parliament about the lending practices of the State Bank. For this she was criticised by businesses at the time, by the banking industry, by the media, and by other politicians—especially, I accept, by those on this side of the chamber. But her prescient warnings were entirely vindicated by the bank's subsequent collapse.

Jennifer Cashmore could have made further history as the first female leader of the South Australian Liberal Party, but it was not to be at the time. Her 1992 challenge to John Olsen instead elevated Dean Brown to the party's leadership and she announced she would leave politics following that year's election. However, leaving parliament in no way slowed her dedication to the many causes she believed in; if anything, the opposite occurred.

Jennifer Cashmore has been a long and vocal advocate for the need to improve the quality of end-of-life care, and as Chair of the Palliative Care SA Board was essential to the successful passage of the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act of 1995. She was also a proud patron of the Alzheimer's Association of South Australia, a member of the National Childcare Accreditation Council, and on the board of the Environment Protection Authority.

In 1998 she was awarded the Order of Australia, a well-deserved honour for a lifetime of service to South Australians. Indeed, at Jennifer Cashmore's funeral only last week there was a frequent recounting of her advocacy around the Museum, in rather recent times, which I may leave to others in this place to make a contribution on—which no doubt they will.

It is no surprise that her children were inspired to pursue lives similarly marked by achievement, vision and public service. Her legacy lives on in her son, Stuart Adamson, Associate Dean of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care at Sydney's Morling College and, of course, her two daughters: New South Wales Supreme Court judge, Christine Adamson SC, and, of course, Her Excellency the Hon. Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia.

I would like to offer my condolences to the Adamson family, friends and all those in the wider South Australian community whose lives Jennifer Cashmore touched. The life of Jennifer Cashmore was one of enormous achievement, of fierce dedication to principle, and service to her community—a life that can truly be said to have changed South Australia for the better. I commend this motion to the house.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:07): I rise to provide a contribution on behalf of the Liberal Party, the opposition, to this condolence motion that the Premier has moved. Jennifer Cashmore was a trailblazer of South Australian politics. In 1977 she was elected as the member for Coles, which is now the seat of Morialta. She was just the third woman elected to the House of Assembly in South Australia's history, and at the time she was the only female member of parliament.

During her time in parliament, Jennifer Cashmore was renowned for her attention to detail, her passionate advocacy for a range of causes that were close to her heart, her strong sense of social justice, her commitment to her local electorate, and perhaps she became best known for her passion for the natural environment in South Australia. In 1979, she became South Australia's second ever female minister when she was appointed Minister for Health and Tourism in the Tonkin government. She built a strong reputation as a minister who was always across her briefs. One of her biggest achievements during the Tonkin government was the passing of the Radiation Protection and Control Bill after an all-night sitting of parliament.

You might be asking what the significance of this bill was, given it sounds relatively administrative in nature. In fact, when we took it through the house in 2021 to refresh that legislation, it was, by now, highly administrative in nature. However, when Ms Cashmore took it through this place, this was legislation of national importance because it helped enable the establishment of the Olympic Dam mine. We all now know the critical importance of that mine to our state's economy, but at that time it was, of course, a hotly contested issue. The Labor opposition had opposed it, and, with numbers in the house on a knife edge, it was minister Cashmore's sensible handling of the issue which was critical to the legislation passing. The rest, of course, is history, but without minister Cashmore and the work that she did alongside Deputy Premier and Minister for Mines, Roger Goldsworthy, the Olympic Dam mine might never have eventuated and this state would be far poorer for it.

While in the scheme of our state's history, Jennifer Cashmore's time as a minister was relatively short with the Tonkin government being defeated in 1982, Ms Cashmore continued to serve as a member of parliament for a further 11 years until 1993. During this time she had some notable achievements, despite occupying the opposition benches, in shadow portfolios including the environment and planning, the arts and the economy—shadow treasurer. She led work on world leading end-of-life reform, which led to new palliative care laws in South Australia. As a result, tens of thousands of people in this state have been able to access palliative care to ease pain towards the end of their lives.

Jennifer Cashmore was well known for her advocacy on environmental causes, a passion that I certainly share with her. She took strong and effective stances on development in the Flinders Ranges, opposing a luxury resort that was proposed for Wilpena Pound. Her opposition to this plan included threatening to stand in front of bulldozers, and even writing a poem, which was subsequently turned into a song. She was known, and called, 'the green conscience' of the South Australian Liberal Party, and certainly paved the way for the party that I lead today to be involved in sensible, centre-right conservation and environmentalism.

In 1989, as shadow treasurer, as the Premier has mentioned, Jennifer Cashmore was the first to raise questions about the financial mismanagement taking place at the State Bank. At the time, she was criticised by business, the banking industry and other politicians for undermining confidence in the lending institution. Despite the resistance, Jennifer kept probing, asking more than 200 questions on the issue in state parliament. In just two years, her fears were realised with the 1991 financial collapse of the State Bank that lost $3.15 billion in government-guaranteed funds. Of course, the collapse of the bank devastated South Australia's economy and business confidence and hobbled our recovery from the 1990s recession.

In May 1992, Jennifer Cashmore unsuccessfully challenged for the Liberal leadership. After losing that ballot, she decided to retire at the following year's election. After leaving parliament, she remained highly active in the community, especially in the areas of health and wellbeing and, again, environmentalism. She served on the Ministerial Advisory Board Of Ageing, was a Chair of the South Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and was the patron of the Alzheimer's Association South Australia.

Jennifer was a proud family woman, first married to Ian and later to Stuart. She had three children: Stuart, a leading theologian, Christine, a New South Wales Supreme Court Judge and, of course, Her Excellency the Hon. Frances Adamson AC. Last week, at Jennifer's funeral I was impressed to learn that despite the relatively busy life that she led and the very busy lives that her children lead in a modern world, she wrote to them almost every week and was in regular communication with them by telephone.

I only met Jennifer Cashmore once and that was at the rally out on the steps of this house into the government's proposed changes to the South Australian Museum. At that rally with the deputy leader we got what I would say is a really beautiful picture of the three of us where the passion was so present in Jennifer's eyes for this cause that she believed in. We spoke briefly at that event and she told us that we had to keep fighting for the Museum. It was an issue that was incredibly close to her heart. Much was made of that at her funeral and I know that, given the political sensitivity of that topic, she made sure that her daughter was completely unaware of her attendance before it became publicly known—probably via the social media posts that John and I posted thereafter.

In researching the life of Ms Cashmore and preparing for this contribution today, I spoke to former Premier of South Australia Steven Marshall. He asked that I put on the public record his condolences to Ms Cashmore's family, saying, and I quote:

Jennifer Cashmore will be remembered as a trailblazer and role model for women in South Australia. Others will remember her astute financial and political instincts; I will remember her as a woman of immense integrity, poise and conviction. She had the wonderful skill of delivering tough advice—sometimes to me—in a gentle but decisive way.

Although I had only met Ms Cashmore once, it is very clear from being able to attend her funeral and from speaking to many of my colleagues, both those in the house today and former colleagues, that she was a true leader in the state of South Australia. Ms Cashmore was a leader before her time and she was someone who left a distinct legacy, something that is not always afforded to people who have the privilege of serving in parliament. She cared for her community, she cared for this state and, above all, she cared for and loved her family and friends. She will be sorely missed.

To our state, she will be remembered as a trailblazer, not just for women in politics but for her community and for having the principle and the bravery to stand up for what she believed was right. To Jennifer's family and friends, on behalf of the Liberal Party of South Australia I extend my sympathies. Vale Jennifer Cashmore.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy) (14:17): It is an honour to speak about Jennifer Cashmore. I am of an age where I do not recall a time when I did not know that Jennifer existed; she was part of state politics as I started to observe it. Although I only met her very recently, she has left an indelible mark not only on some of the legislation and some of the policies but, for me, on the way in which politics ought to be conducted, because she brought together three rare qualities. Individually we see them; combined is rare.

Jennifer Cashmore was far-sighted and as has already been canvassed, and I will repeat, some of the positions that she took were not popular at the time but were later proven to have been correct. She was also principled; she was prepared to sacrifice on the basis of understanding what the right thing was to do, and paired with that sense of being principled—of identifying what is right rather than what is expedient—she was also courageous and was prepared to lose if she needed to, in order to make her point. Those three qualities of foresight, principle and courage are the three that we ought all be inspired by in this place.

Examples of the ways in which she demonstrated those qualities reflect perhaps in some ways poorly on both sides of parliament. Given that none of us were there at the time, I think we can all agree that when she took a position against that of either the Labor side or the Liberal side, she was right to raise the issues and, frequently, she was right in her position on them. For example, her position on the environment: as has been said, she was known as the 'green conscience' of the Liberal Party. She not only understood the possibilities of hydrogen well ahead of her time but she also stood up for Wilpena in the proposition to have a luxury resort in Wilpena Station. I understand that not only was she critical of Labor over that proposition but she also had a dispute with the then Liberal leader, John Olsen, and had the environment portfolio removed from her because of the position that she took.

She wrote a poem, as has been said. If anyone wishes to ever give me the poem I would love to read it. I understood from John Schumann at the funeral that, while she sought to have it turned into a song sung by him, he improved upon the lyrics by constructing it in a way that was more suitable for a song and he shared it with all of us and it was, of course, as always with John Schumann, moving.

She was indeed the first to raise questions about the State Bank two years before its collapse. Whatever we think of the rights and wrongs and why things were the way they were at the time, having the courage to ask questions when people even on her own side felt that they were a distraction—and I imagine certainly on the government's side were very unwelcome—and having the courage to continue to do that because she saw a problem (and was later to be proved correct) is something that should inspire us all.

In health, as has been raised, she went so far as to cross the floor to vote in favour of a ban on tobacco advertising. Now the idea that we would allow tobacco advertising is anathema, and yet she had to cross the floor in order to support that in 1988. Regarding palliative care, while she was a backbencher she sought to establish a select committee on the law and practice related to death and dying. I understand she received strong opposition from two significant churches in South Australia; nonetheless, as a person of faith—as was very much evident at her funeral—she held her ground, knowing that treating people who were dying with dignity was the right thing to do.

I saw a quote where she was accused of embarking on a very dangerous project as far as the common good was concerned and that her actions would encourage public confusion and give occasion for mischief. She can only feel satisfied that she was proven right in her desire to see the dignity that should be afforded to those who are in their final times.

I understand that the committee took two years to hear the evidence. It met 38 times—again, perhaps perseverance ought to be the fourth of the qualities that I list as being those to which we should aspire—received 400 written submissions, heard from 30 expert witnesses and issued three reports, finally, the second report having 37 recommendations for changes in law.

While she was instrumental, therefore, in the development of the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act, it did pass after her departure from this place, but she should be proud of the role that she played and also to know that that was the first act to provide statutory support for relief of pain and distress in final times.

Post politics, of course, she continued to be active and we have heard some of the areas in which she was, including standing up for our Museum. Again, whenever we think of the rights and wrongs and details of exactly what is happening and what will happen next, anyone who stands up for the Museum is doing what is right and so I am inspired by her decision. Even when she was quite unwell, she chose to come out and do that.

I understand that the History Trust established the Jennifer Cashmore Oration, looking at the intersect of medical treatment and patients' rights, in honour of her role in palliative care. She was a significant part of the Playford Memorial Trust and that is where I finally met her, having, as I say, had her as a feature in the background of my understanding of state politics for as long as I can remember. What surprised me first was how frail she looked, and second, when I was introduced to her by the Governor that she demonstrated to me that she listened to the radio, listened to politics and was interested in something I had to say and gave me feedback on it. To have the generosity and the breadth of spirit to want to be engaged and to choose to give feedback when clearly at a frail point in her life touched me deeply.

I understand, having been awarded the Order of Australia in 1998, how very proud she must have been of her oldest child Frances in becoming the Governor, and of her remarkable family, of course, with Christine and Stuart also being very successful. However, what struck me most at the funeral was that this was fundamentally a family occasion to which others were allowed to come, and the emotion that was expressed by the three children, each of them choosing to speak, which is a hard thing to do, demonstrated to me the strength of family spirit. While I am sure all contribute to that, it was very clear that Jennifer was the anchor of her family, with her love for her children, her love for family and her translation of that love into being a love for the state and for what is right, for what needs to happen and, occasionally, having to sacrifice your own interests in order to be the courageous one to stand up for what you know to be right. Vale Jennifer Cashmore.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): Jennifer Cashmore was the member for Coles from 1977 to 1993, on her retirement. That seat is now the one that I have the honour to represent. Jennifer Cashmore was my local MP growing up, and I have some reflections on her. I will do my best not to repeat the words that others have said, but there are a couple of places where it will be difficult.

Rather than talk about the list of her legacies, which is significant and has been well covered by the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy Premier and a couple of others to come, I want to talk a little bit about the person who was a privilege to know—know her just a little bit, as I did—and also the particular and almost unique way in which I think her legacy can continue to inspire us all in a different way to some of those other people of great achievement similar to her level of achievement. But there was uniqueness about her.

I was introduced to Jennifer Cashmore by Lenore Jones (formerly Lenore Triplow), a colleague of mine in Trish Worth's office for two years in late 1999. Lenore was Jennifer's first electorate secretary in 1977—there was no electorate office at the time; she was working in Parliament House for six months—and then she was her final one from 1989 to 1993. Her book, A Chance in Life was dedicated to Lenore, along with Pam Attwood and Bernadette Carrucan, loyal staff members and supporters.

Pam was the secretary of the Coles SEC throughout almost the entire period of the 16 years that Jennifer Adamson and then Jennifer Cashmore was in the parliament, and they remained friends for life. Pam lived just down the street from Jennifer in Jennifer's later years. Coming full circle, another electorate secretary of Jennifer's, Lyn Byrne, helped me establish my electorate office 33 years later, and she would often remember Jennifer's time and reflect on the way in which things had changed. Lenore told me a story this morning about what Jennifer described as her very first achievement, helping somebody in the first week of being elected to the parliament.

A lady had become widowed and had received a letter from Telecom about her phone account. There was no compassion in the writing, no acknowledgement of her grief. Jennifer was appalled and took up her case with Telecom immediately knowing that, while the standard words in a formal letter might be a small thing, their impact on a great many people at a difficult time in life was nevertheless very important and hurtful in the way that it played out. Telecom agreed to change the wording of the letter. Lenore remembers Jennifer standing in the office with folded arms, being pleased that she had been able to have a positive impact in 1977, and there would be many more to come. Lenore wrote, in reflection on her time as electorate secretary:

I ensured that there was a small vase of flowers on Jennifer's office desk at all times, usually roses or camellias, which I knew she appreciated. I remember once sitting at her desk taking dictation when a couple of rose petals fell onto the desk. I picked them up to discard only to be told to leave them where they were as Jennifer liked seeing nature at work.

Some of those who have worked with Jennifer have reflected to me that she had a capacity to work with people and take their feelings into account as she was dealing with them. She never made people uncomfortable; she just had a way of working with people.

The reason Lenore introduced us was in my role as Young Liberals president. After David Tonkin passed away, around 25 years ago now, we wanted to establish a memorial dinner with an address that would give young people involved in politics the opportunity to hear from a substantial political figure who particularly would encourage them to be thoughtful, philosophical and principled in their political life. Jennifer, who also happened to be very close to David Tonkin and who served in his cabinet as Minister for Health and Tourism, was the perfect choice.

She gave that first address in February 2000. It was thoughtful, philosophical and principled. It was poetic, even, in the quality of its writing. Last Tuesday, in the sittings late at night, I read that speech into the Hansard for the record as I do not believe it has been published anywhere else, and it still bears reading for its insight into issues that confronted her then 24 years ago and remain relevant now.

They are issues for which her advocacy was well known, including the relationship between humans and the earth and our natural environment; the emergence of global corporations, with powers greater than those of sovereign states; and the development of information technology that surpasses any single previous invention in its power to revolutionise economic, political and social ideas and practice.

I think the Deputy Premier described her as far-sighted. Jennifer was a deep thinker. She was a philosophical thinker. She was a philosophical writer. The power of her written work is quite extraordinary; in fact, the remarkable children she had spoke about this at her funeral, the letters that she would write every week. We also have the benefit of the published works. She wrote, obviously, many speeches in Hansard. I apologise to the house: I have some that I want to share.

She wrote a book of essays, amongst other writings, called A Chance in Life, which I referenced before. I encourage people to get a copy of it or at least borrow it from the library. It reflects on a range of things. She writes about liberalism:

Attitude to power is the main characteristic which distinguishes liberalism from other political philosophies. The goal of decentralising power has been the driving force behind the evolution of liberalism, propelling us forward from the days of absolute rulers, whether of church, state, industry or commerce…If you accept the inherent worth and dignity of the individual, you must also accept that no single group or individual should exercise absolute power over any other. To subordinate the legitimate interests of individuals is to deny the concepts of human dignity and liberty.

She wrote about environmentalism. She wrote about economic projects. She wrote about the multifunction polis, which is worth reading for students of South Australian history. She wrote about libraries. She wrote about palliative care. She wrote about the Wilpena development. The Deputy Premier will be pleased to know that in the book, which is not currently in the parliamentary library because one of our colleagues clearly has borrowed it, there is a copy of the poem that she wrote that inspired the John Schumann song If I Close My Eyes, which he sang so beautifully at the funeral last week.

She wrote about her experiences as a woman in parliament. We now use words like 'trailblazer', but she spoke with precise, devastating insight that could only come from the experience of having been the third woman elected to this house and the second female minister, a woman elected to this house at a time when she was the only woman in this house. Joyce Steele and Molly Byrne had retired; Jennifer was here alone. She spoke to me, and I remember one of our early conversations about the lack of female toilets in this building, particularly in proximity to this chamber, where for a period of time there was Joyce, Molly and later her. Thankfully, that situation has obviously improved.

She wrote on another topic, women's voices, in the book of essays I described. She talked about her rules in politics. One of the particular rules that she had was 'If at first you don't succeed, keep trying'. She talked about one of her issues, the issue of toilets in national parks not receiving due attention. She wrote:

When frequent complaints about the deplorable state of toilet facilities in national parks brought no response, I decided direct action was the best course. One quiet Sunday, having first alerted the news services, I took a mop, bucket and broom to Windy Point Conservation Park. Television film and photographs of a politician scrubbing out lavatories soon got the message across.

Others have spoken about the bulldozer threat at Wilpena, which was very effective. The leader alluded to the Radiation Protection and Control Act. It was this topic in particular that I also wanted to bring to members' attention. When she came to speak to the Morialta SEC, probably in 2011 or 2012, I remember Max Amber introducing her that night as they had worked together; at that stage he was a local councillor and then mayor. She spent a bit of time talking about the experience of that debate, which was so critical in allowing the development of Olympic Dam.

The leader mentioned it as an all-night sitting, and I thought that I would read the nine hours of Hansard that comprised—I did not, actually; I skipped it. She gave the second reading speech on 3 March 1982. Two weeks later, the broader debate took place and the second reading went for some time to the dinner break.

As now, the house rose at 6 o'clock to return at 7.30. The debate continued with Jennifer Adamson, as she was then, sitting in the ministerial seat from 7.30pm until 3.16am, without being able to go for a toilet break, not that there was a toilet nearby, as I understand. For seven hours and 46 minutes, she gave careful stewardship throughout the third reading of that debate, respectfully, forcefully and intelligently presenting the case that led to the passage of the bill that was so important for the establishment of the mine that is so important to our economic underpinnings today. Treasurers and shadow treasurers would be familiar with how important the revenue from that mine is.

I thought it worth reflecting that, after 3 in the morning, Jennifer Adamson, as is listed in the Hansard, concluded the debate by saying:

It has been abundantly clear throughout the debate that the Opposition is approaching the question of radiation control with a double standard, which I believe is very sad indeed. The questions relating to the control of medical, industrial or scientific radiation have passed virtually with no comment and have been glossed over: the questions relating to radiation safety in regard to uranium mining have been pursued relentlessly and have been distorted in the way in which I have just described in an effort, I believe, to cast doubts in the public mind on the nature of the safeguards that the Government is implementing under this legislation.

I repeat what was said in the second reading explanation and throughout the debate, namely, that this is the most all-embracing legislation that has been enacted in Australia. It seeks to ensure that doctors observe the same law as miners, and that miners observe the same law as doctors. The law is framed to ensure the maximum protection for the individual and the environment. I am confident that that is what will occur…

Jennifer Cashmore, it has been noted, was critical in outlining some of the issues relating to the State Bank early on before others would listen. I just want to touch on the debate in February 1991 during which she was named. I am quoting from Rex Jory's report at the time, which stated:

Ms Cashmore was suspended at 2.54pm until the next sitting of Parliament after shouting across the chamber at Mr Bannon: 'You are dishonest.'

As Ms Cashmore left the chamber she bowed respectfully to Mr Peterson—

the Speaker—

and, in an unprecedented outburst, shouted at Mr Bannon: 'You have sent this State bankrupt and you know it.'

Members, including Mr Bannon, appeared stunned as she left the chamber.

On the footpath outside Parliament, Ms Cashmore said the blame for the $1 billion bank loss—

which is what the loss was understood to be at the time of the article; it turned out to be more—

rested with Mr Bannon as Premier and Treasurer and he should resign.

She went on to say:

'I have not been able to remain silent after two years of questioning (and) the Premier evading the issue.

If I, as a private member of parliament, were able to see what was coming to the State Bank and the Premier, with all the resources of the Treasury, and the board of the bank and the Public Service at his disposal, could not see then I believe he should be called to account.'

Her life and her legacy is an inspiration for us to always do better and to always be questioning. As I said, she was my local MP growing up and I met her in about 2000. When I ran for pre-selection in 2008 and was successful, she was kind enough to write me a letter and offer me a small donation early in my campaign. She gave me the opportunity to come and visit her.

After I was elected I was honoured that she bestowed on me the champagne glasses she had purchased when she became the member for Coles in 1977, noting that it was important to sometimes host people at one's house for engagements, one's local members, and she thought that, being a young man of about 31 years old, it was possible I did not have a suitable collection of champagne glasses and at her stage she was using them less. I was honoured to have them.

She also gave me some books that Stewart Cockburn, her late husband by then, had been given by Sir Robert Menzies and his family reflecting on his time working with Sir Robert. She gave them to me because she thought I might be able to use them as auction items at fundraisers. I will be honest: I did not, I still have them and I treasure them greatly. The tribute by Sir Robert Menzies to Winston Churchill, in particular, I appreciate. She was very encouraging of those who reflected on philosophy and the traditions of our political parties and in life as well.

Joe Scalzi is with us today. Joe was the member for Hartley from 1993 to 2006. Joe said to me recently that Jennifer Cashmore was a great South Australian and a great Liberal, and Joe said that he joined the Liberal Party because of her. In his maiden speech, he said:

…in this centenary celebration of women's suffrage, the contribution made to this State by the Hon. Jennifer Cashmore must be praised. There is no doubt she has successfully represented her electorate as well as South Australia. We will all suffer a great loss now that she has retired from Parliament.

Jennifer Cashmore has taught us that you can have fire in your belly and seek the truth without being dressed in tattered clothing. She has shown us over the years that you can care for the environment without falling victim to the stereotype. I believe she has played an important role in helping to bridge the forces of development and the environmental movement, for ultimately it is in the community's interest and in the interests of the future that they work together.

The Premier raised that, at the funeral, we heard from her children and indeed the minister who was Jennifer's minister about her experience on the steps of Parliament House.

I arrived home late at night on 12 April to a voicemail from Jennifer asking me to call whatever time I got home. It was after 11, we had been at the Marche Club for a fundraiser, and she was up and encouraged. She was eager to come to the demonstration at the Museum the following morning. She was particularly concerned about the status of some of the research staff, who she knew personally, whose work she considered to be tremendously important from an anthropological point of view as well as an environmental point of view. She was distressed at the idea that if she came to Parliament House and was not able to access the building, then that might make it very difficult for her, so she wanted to know if I could help. I was in a position, fortunately, that we could give her a lift. Conscious, obviously, of the position of her daughter, Her Excellency, Jennifer did not want to share that with Her Excellency prior to the event, and that was suitable, but I knew that Jennifer was somebody of fierce passion.

The Deputy Premier described her sharp intelligence, even though the frailty of her illness later in life made it physically more difficult. Her sharp intelligence was insightful and incisive to the end. The discussion we had that night and the following morning in the car on the way to and from the demonstration was something that was a privilege for me, to spend that time with her at that moment.

When we were on the steps before the rally, she said that it was the first time she had been back here in 15 years. It was obviously a level of difficulty for her to get here but she felt it was important that she present her support to that. Of the people on the steps—and there were about 900 or so, maybe 1,000; I think there were 800 signatures collected on the petition but I do not want to assume that everybody signed it that day—many of them, I suspect, would remember Jennifer from her time in parliament, many would not. But to hear 1,000 people applauding as one, and a fairly diverse group of people as you might imagine at that group, to hear that Jennifer was in attendance was something special. I am very pleased that Jennifer was able to hear that acknowledgement of her continued activism, her continued role in public life by such a large group of people just two months ago.

Jennifer concluded her book that I have been quoting from A Chance in Life with her personal credo, and I will share it because I think it bears all of our reflection. She said:

As a Member of Parliament, I believe it is my responsibility to try, as often as possible, to say what other people are thinking but perhaps not expressing, so that those I represent feel they have a voice. Another obligation—more difficult by far to fulfil—is actually to make people think. We need to see ourselves not only as individuals but as a very important part of society. When we do that, we are forced to think about the relationship between thought and action, action and reaction. We are forced to think not just about our own lives but about the lives of others we depend on and who depend on us—our families, our employers, our colleagues, our country. In other words, we are forced to think politically. The more people can think politically, the more power they have to influence their future in ways of their own choosing.

We have lost a substantial South Australian, but she leaves a legacy not just in her achievements, which have been profound, long-lasting and dramatic in their significance for South Australians, but also in that written legacy, that opportunity for us to reflect on her beautiful words, her beautiful thoughts and the way in which she should continue to inspire us to be better people and better parliamentarians and better in our service to the state. Let us all strive to make even a small portion of the impact that she had. I offer my most sincere condolences to all the family and all those who loved her.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:44): I would like to begin by passing on my condolences to the family of the Hon. Jennifer Cashmore, for her life and the works that she gave, and I hope that she is now in God's care. I spoke to some of my former colleagues who served with Jennifer Cashmore. I often think it is important to get a perspective from people who were not particularly on your side, because they are often good judges of legacy and impact.

I spoke to three members of parliament who had served with Jennifer Cashmore in the parliament. I never served with Ms Cashmore. She left four years before I entered the parliament. Of the three things that came out from those conversations about her that are also intertwined with my memory of her, one struck me that I did not expect. It was that—all three were unanimous in this—in their entire careers they felt that she was the best orator that this parliament had ever had. She was the complete orator. She knew what she would say at the end of the sentence from the moment she began it. She spoke in complete grammatical sentences. She did so without notes. I cannot think of many parliamentarians who are orators not only standing but seated.

The work I want to talk about from my research of Ms Cashmore was the work she did on the palliative care committee. She was a minority member on that committee, which I think was led by the Bannon government. She led that committee. She was the dominant personality on that committee by far. I can assure members that committee was designed not to get the outcome that it got. It was the sheer personal perseverance and personality of Ms Cashmore that got those changes.

Those changes have made dramatic impacts on people's lives. That palliative care bill changed lives. It changed lives for loved ones and obviously people at end of life, and it gave them dignity. It was an incredible piece of work. The members that I spoke to who were on that committee talked about the role Ms Cashmore played to educate members of that committee to get to the outcome. It was not lecturing or based on, 'I know more than you. You will follow me on this.' It was a process of education and discovery, and it was very, very impressive.

Everyone has talked about Ms Cashmore's impact on the State Bank. I want to talk about that most in my condolence motion. Looking at it from 2024 back to 1991, it is pretty easy to say she was right and she was a hero for what she did. At the time, I am told by people who were there, it was not only the government of the day that was critical of what she was saying but also her colleagues who were critical of what she was saying. The reason they were critical was politics. They were fearful of a run on the bank, and they were fearful of being blamed for a run on the bank.

I was reminded by one of my former colleagues about the recent memory in history of the Hindmarsh Building Society, where former Premier Don Dunstan used to have to stand outside a branch with a megaphone, advising people not to take their money out of their savings because everything would be okay and the government would ensure that, to try to stop a run on the banks.

What the Liberal opposition at the time were concerned about was (1) was she right and (2) could they have been artificially causing a run on the bank that could precipitate the disaster that she was talking about? The critical moment in the backbenches on the government side at the time, when they finally realised that the penny had dropped, was the moment the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke about, when Ms Cashmore was named by Speaker Peterson for calling John Bannon dishonest.

Eloquent as always, understanding that this place is also a stage and understanding also the impact of her words, she calmly walked towards the bar of the parliament—for anyone listening, not the alcohol bar; the bar of the parliament—nodded to the Speaker in recognition of his authority to suspend her from the house, and then uttered the words, 'You have bankrupted this state.' The words that I heard from two of the people I considered my mentors in Young Labor at the time were that it was 'chilling' and 'devastating' and it ruptured the political bubble at the time and it finally broke through.

But the bank was in trouble, and that was at a time when we only knew of a third of the disaster that was coming South Australia's way. It was a remarkable piece of theatre and eloquence, and it really punctured the bubble of what was probably one of the most commanding premiers in this state's history. John Bannon was unrivalled in his dominance of this place and the state, and I think that one moment in this parliament burst that bubble.

It is to her eternal credit that she persisted. In 2024, it all seems pretty common sense: you know of this disaster, you are convinced of your accuracy, and you prosecute it. But imagine being the only woman, imagine it being 1991, and imagine being told by people to be quiet and not raise your voice. Think of the courage that that takes. I think she is a giant of this chamber, and she has done a remarkable service.

One of the other things that I was told about her was her intellect, which was remarkable and unmatched. I think the oratory alone—I even remember being told to go back and read certain contributions, and such was their impact on the people that I spoke to that they even knew the year and the month they occurred, and we are talking 30 years ago. She did have a remarkable impact. I also want to talk about her view on renewable energy. In 1991, she said:

The time has now come for us to ask questions and demand answers of government in Australia which will enable us to respond quickly and positively to society's clear need for a switch from fossil fuels to a solar, hydrogen based economy.

That was A Chance in Life on page 56—1991. The former Weatherill government released a hydrogen road map in 2016; she was talking about hydrogen rejuvenating our economy and replacing fossil fuels in 1991. It is remarkable.

She also recognised the important work of ETSA as a necessary good for the state. She saw that its ultimate progression would lead to solar hydrogen production that would be, and I quote, 'particularly suited to the climate and geography of South Australia.' She went on to say:

Australia is the best place in the world to develop solar energy to commercial success, if only government and private enterprise can be persuaded to invest in a future rather than the past.

Again, this is groundbreaking stuff. I am humbled when I read about what she was thinking so long ago that has become the natural evolution and progression of where we are going today, because it is a logical next step post fossil fuels.

In her book, which she devoted to solar and hydrogen, she talks about strengthening political will. The political will is, I think, the biggest lesson we can learn from Jennifer Cashmore. As the Premier said, she was not afraid to cross the floor, she was not afraid to defy her party, she was not afraid to stand up for her beliefs and she was not afraid to be the one voice in opposition. She, in my opinion, exhibited the first and most important quality of leadership: independent thinking.

She could think for herself. She did not follow, she did not work out what the Zeitgeist was and follow that. She did not work out what the mood was; she researched the topic, made her own opinions and she followed her own judgement. That is hard in politics. It is easy in politics to stand behind a herd—very easy. In fact, that is the norm. What she did was brave and that is the type of bravery we need more of in this parliament, not less of. She is a fine example to us all. God rest her and comfort those who loved her.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (14:56): I am very grateful, indeed, to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate to offer my condolences to Jennifer's family, and in the company of all members. We are so fortunate to be here and to serve for a time. As the immediate past member for Flinders used to say from time to time: we are all just passing through and we have our opportunity to serve and we do what we can.

I feel at home in this place and challenged in this place because of the service and example of Jennifer Cashmore. That service now takes us back some time into the past, and, as said by others during the course of this debate, her contribution remains evermore compelling day by day, particularly as we reflect on her passing.

Jennifer Adamson, as she was at the time, was elected to the House of Assembly as the member for Coles back in 1977. She succeeded the former member for Coles, new member for Hartley, Des Corcoran, who was soon to be premier. Jennifer delivered her first speech in this place on 25 October 1977. As was the case at the time, it was in the relevant debate, so her speech was delivered on the Public Purposes Loan Bill 1977. In the course of that contribution, and framed in that way, she made observations about coming to this place and about her community. She said:

The District of Coles comprises a diversity of people settled in both old-established and newly developing suburbs. There is a broad range of age groups, nationalities, backgrounds and occupations. Yet I believe that people living in Coles, and indeed in all districts represented in this Parliament have one thing in common, irrespective of the political philosophy they espouse, and that is a very strong wish that they, as individuals, could have a greater influence on Government decisions that affect them. There is a yearning in our own community and nation, and indeed all over the world, for Parliamentary democracy to work as ideally it should: that is, for the maintenance of the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities of people rather than for the administrative convenience of politicians and bureaucrats.

I say hear, hear to that; she started as she would continue.

Later, as the Hon. Jennifer Cashmore, Jennifer served as Minister for Health and Minister for Tourism in the Tonkin government. She cut her teeth in terms of Liberal Party politics campaigning in the December 1972 election in the district of Sturt for the election of Ian Wilson, and that win in Sturt was one of very few seats to have been won from the Labor Party at that election. It is well to observe because there was then a longstanding alliance and collaboration; it was a close team of Ian Wilson and Jennifer Cashmore.

We have reflected recently on the passing of Steele Hall. At that time, the credibility that came with the winning of Sturt in 1972 meant that Ian Wilson and Jennifer Cashmore had all the more impetus to support the Hall reform agenda but also to convince Steele Hall to remain with the Liberal Party rather than split off. As I say, the win in Sturt gave great credibility to what was an essentially unifying approach to their politics: a unifying approach that crossed over at that time from the federal to the state arena.

Jennifer served on Ian Wilson's staff as principal political adviser and research officer. She served an instrumental role throughout the 1970s reform of the Liberal Party. She served on the state executive of the party and she participated in the construction of the new party constitution and the 1975 state election policy platform. Those were reforms that led to the continuing success in the district of Sturt, but they particularly led to the roaring success of the Tonkin government at the 1979 state election where Tonkin became the Premier after winning 55 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. I think I have said in other circumstances that this was the advent of the Liberal Party as a party in receipt of not only a majority of the districts under the old system but a whacking majority of the statewide vote, and the Tonkin government was characterised by that.

I have said I feel at home and challenged at the same time by the legacy of service of Jennifer Cashmore, and I often think of it day to day. I reflected on the personal aspect to those I will call the Sturt Liberal leaders of the 1970s. I count my father among them, and with that Wilson-Adamson-Teague family combination we became all very well known to each other. That was partly in politics but it was also partly through our attendance together each week at St Matthew's on Kensington Road—it is still there, long continuing—and all of the families and children became well known to each other at that time.

I observe further, in terms of Jennifer Cashmore's contribution to the Liberal Party, that she really became a very transparently obvious leader in the Liberal Party by the time she came to the parliament, having served in that way throughout the 1970s in particular. She was appointed a minister in the Tonkin government—she served very well as Minister for Health and Minister for Tourism. But it is important to remember that her political authority was enormous already by then. Her authority was built on understanding the details, speaking the truth, standing on sound principles and being fair to everyone. She had our sincere commitment truly to serve all the people of South Australia, and so it is unsurprising to say that Jennifer was among the most inspiring and most achieving of all the Liberals our state has known.

On Tuesday 18 June—a little over a week ago—at the memorial service for Jennifer at St Oswald's Anglican Church, I thought it was very fitting that these words of scripture were read, and I conclude with them:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever

things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever

things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever

things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if

there be any praise, think on these things.

Vale Jennifer Cashmore.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:06): I also express my condolences to the family and friends of Jennifer Cashmore and add some comments specifically as the Minister for Health and Wellbeing in terms of the incredible legacy that she leaves in terms of the health and wellbeing of South Australians.

Of course, on 18 September 1979, following the election of the Tonkin government, Jennifer became the first female South Australian Minister for Health. As Minister for Health, she was not only passionate about the healthcare services being provided, and in direct contact with people working across our healthcare system—doctors, nurses and patients—but she also had a passion for preventive health in particular. Shortly after being appointed as the Minister for Health, she said:

I have an ambition—I would like to be known as the Minister for Good Health, and a good Minister for Health—

and chuckling—

Health rather than ill-th.

Of course, I think that she would be delighted to know that both myself and the previous Minister for Health, the Hon. Stephen Wade, have been the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, much as she anticipated back at that time.

Jennifer's passion for preventive health continued during her ministerial and parliamentary career. She launched anti-smoking campaigns during her time as minister, and she also called for tobacco to be placed on a schedule under the Controlled Substances Act. In 1978, she introduced a private member's bill to increase penalties for the sale of tobacco to children, and was one of the earliest people that I am aware of to raise the idea of plain packaging for cigarettes when she called for cigarettes to be sold in brown paper bags from chemists, some 30 years before that was ultimately legislated by the Rudd and Gillard governments.

She also correctly predicted further regulation and control that future governments would put in place to control both tobacco and alcohol. In 1979, as the minister, she said:

I have a feeling that in a couple of decades, we are going to be seeing more stringent controls on alcohol and tobacco than could have been envisaged years ago…I am not for one minute advocating prohibition of either but, leaving aside the human misery, the sheer economics of the price we pay for the abuse of alcohol and tobacco will result in the community forcing governments to act in this area.

Once again, setting the trend well ahead of her time.

She continued to campaign against tobacco consumption and promotion during her time in parliament including when, as other members have noted, she famously crossed the floor during her time in opposition to vote with the government on the Tobacco Products Control Act Amendment Bill 1988. This legislation sought to prohibit tobacco advertising in cinemas and on billboards, and to outlaw tobacco sponsorship of sporting and cultural events. Let's not forget that was a big thing at the time, and obviously at a time when sporting events were predominantly sponsored by tobacco companies.

Jennifer announced her intention to cross the floor and support the legislation, which no doubt upset her Liberal colleagues. On 12 April 1988, when the legislation was before this place, her colleagues filibustered the debate for some 12 hours into the night—it is in the Hansard that the member for Morialta has with him—in an attempt to avoid a member of their party crossing the floor. But Jennifer was determined to support the legislation. With the vote being called on in the early hours of the morning, Jennifer—who was also married in that week and was at the time on crutches after injuring her ankle in a fall—stayed in the parliament to cross the floor to support that important legislation. She said during her second reading speech:

Let us have the courage to address the basic issue and recognise that, whilst we cannot achieve what we wish to achieve overnight in banning sales of tobacco, we are bound to work towards something that will benefit the health of our children and grandchildren.

That is important work contributing towards tobacco control that of course continues today. But perhaps most memorable in the health sector, and one of the biggest legacies she leaves, is the key role she played in developing palliative care legislation in South Australia. She proposed the select committee to examine the problems surrounding compassionate care for dying in South Australia.

Before bringing it to this place, she wrote to every hospital, every nursing home, every retirement village, every senior citizens' club and the heads of churches in South Australia regarding her intention to establish the committee. While she had very significant rapport, including from the health sector, there were severe reservations from Catholic and Lutheran churches. She consulted and sought the support of her party, Independent MPs and government ministers, including the then Minister of Health, Don Hopgood, who provided support for the establishment, and the dying with dignity parliamentary committee was established in December 1990. She said:

We should not be seeking apparently easy legislative solutions: we should be asking deeper questions. We should be asking why so many people dread the prospect of pain, of being a burden, of being in a vegetative or demented state, and dread the loss of identity and dignity that goes with that. We should be asking how society can care more adequately for these people and relieve their suffering and loneliness, and we should be asking how we can help health professionals to achieve that goal. These are the questions that I hope the committee will address…

Famously, it was one of the most significant committees that this house has had, with 38 meetings of the committee held and 400 submissions assessed over two years. It brought to the parliament in 1992 a bill, which was soon to lapse in parliament, but after the election that bill, following Jennifer no longer being in parliament, in much the same format as it was before the election was brought and enacted as the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act, which passed this parliament and has really set a tone across the country in terms of reform.

She dedicated much of her post-parliamentary career to also supporting palliative care. Just last week, I was at the Palliative Care SA conference. Members shared her contributions, and we took the opportunity to acknowledge her important work, contributions and legacy. She was a very important figure for Palliative Care SA. She was Chair of the Palliative Care SA Board and a Palliative Care SA life member. Her daughter Her Excellency the Hon. Frances Adamson and her son-in-law Mr Rod Bunten, who is here with us today—we are honoured to have him—are both patrons of Palliative Care SA today. She will be well missed by Palliative Care SA as well as the wider clinicians in palliative care community.

This important work will live on in this state thanks to the hard work and passion Jennifer had. Many people across the state will experience a loved one in palliative care and will appreciate her incredible work. I extend my deepest sympathies to Jennifer's family and friends, and we honour her life and legacy here today. Vale Jennifer Cashmore.

Ms PRATT (Frome) (15:13): I rise on this solemn occasion to honour and farewell an extraordinary servant of the South Australian parliament, the Hon. Jennifer Lilian Cashmore AM, the baker's daughter from Lockleys, the member for Coles, the minister for tourism and health, wife, mother, grandmother. She was born on 5 December 1937. Her service to our state is underestimated, and her legacy is one of integrity and compassion. One only has to look at her hardworking parents and childhood to understand the path she was on. Described as fiercely honest and intolerant of pompous behaviour, she was an eternally cheerful person and she sparkled with energy.

In 1983, a local journalist of note Mr Max Fatchen wrote an article about Ms Cashmore's mother, Myrtle Cashmore (nee Grubb), who was a lively young girl in search of adventure. With a grandfather living in Manoora, Fatchen captured the following anecdote from 1914, which stated:

On a train between Tarlee and Stockport, Myrtle was helping her mother to hunt for a glove, the carriage lurched, she put her hand on one of the newfangled doorhandles, the door flew open and out she went. Fortunately she fell on the inside of the curve and rolled down the embankment as the train disappeared from sight. She climbed to her feet and walked after the train. But the driver had seen her fall and pulled up while the guard raced back to pick her up. She had a large bruise on her head but she was otherwise unhurt.

On arrival at the Riverton station, she was promised whatever she wanted from the refreshment tearoom, and she took full advantage of that offer. To understand Myrtle Cashmore is to understand Jennifer. Myrtle's cheerful outlook was naturally passed on to at least one of her six children. Today, we enjoy an opportunity to reflect on Jennifer Cashmore's contribution to this place, where she had the same sense of adventure and ask-for-forgiveness-not-permission approach to politics. Ms Cashmore described her first two years in this place as without discipline, speaking on any topic she pleased, ranging from criticising Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen for banning protest marches to traffic congestion.

Ms Cashmore's victorious election in 1977 as the member for Coles was a momentous result because for a woman to enter South Australian politics at that time was so rare. She was indeed only the third female to achieve it in the House of Assembly and said in her own words:

I stood for Senate pre-selection three times, twice unsuccessfully and once on the bottom of the ticket, where else? That was after two tries for pre-selection and don't ever underestimate the effort of an upper house pre-selection.

In 1977, five days out from the election day, The Advertiser had Labor tipped to win the new seat of Coles. As a mother of three children, in nine months she had knocked on about 7,000 doors and on 17 September she enjoyed all the success of that hard work.

The pathway to enter politics is still difficult and it still requires hard work, as it should, but there is still much judgement and public commentary particularly about women who make more than one attempt to run. It is too easy and diminishing to frame her own achievements against the backdrop of being the only female during those years. Look at her work ethic and her leadership. She was a team player. Look to her actions and her integrity. Gender has nothing to do with one's capacity to serve the state and we can look at current commissioners, chief public health officers and governors to see what leadership looks like. Upon winning the seat of Coles in 1977, Ms Cashmore said to The Advertiser:

Being a woman in parliament, as in any other field, is complementary to that of men. Women have insights into areas that are different from men's. But when you combine those insights with men's attitudes you get a total picture of the needs of the electorate for which you are working.

She continued:

I see myself as no different to any other person other than I am willing to do the job of a politician. I firmly believe politicians are no better, no wiser and no more able than any other person. The only distinguishing characteristic they have is that they are willing to do the job.

Would she have accepted the much used title of 'trailblazer' willingly? I do not know and yet, until all gender-based barriers for all women entering and remaining in politics are removed, we look to those who have made it to understand how they got there.

In searching for a symbolic way to capture the essence of a lady I admired but had not met, I drifted to the classics to Athena. She was the Greek goddess of wisdom, war and crafts. She was the favourite daughter of Zeus and was the wisest, most courageous and most resourceful of the Olympian gods. Athena is also the patron goddess of household crafts, giving mortals the gift of cooking, and it is a topic, I understand, on which Ms Cashmore had much to say. The most recognised symbol for Athena's wisdom is the owl, and since the collective noun is a parliament of owls I think I have stumbled on a fitting comparison.

Hansard records show that, from the outset, Ms Cashmore had the attention of the chamber, making her maiden speech theme, as we have heard, about loan estimates of all things. She was cheerful and enthusiastic, diligent and purposeful, and, while she engendered polite compliments from her parliamentary colleagues that day, I suggest she required none of them to do her job. I am also reminded of the American gangster Al Capone warning, 'Do not mistake kindness for weakness.'

Ms Cashmore described her first two years as a backbencher as exhilarating, and she certainly was ahead of her time on many issues. During her almost 17 years in parliament, she campaigned consistently against tobacco consumption, including introducing a private member's bill as a backbencher in 1978 to increase penalties for the sale of tobacco to children and launching an anti-smoking campaign as Minister for Health between 1979 and 1982. She called for tobacco to be placed on a schedule under the Controlled Substances Act to make it automatically illegal to advertise, placing conditions on its sale. She delivered a rubella awareness campaign and she developed world pioneering legislation on palliative care, chairing the Palliative Care Council of SA from 1993 to 1996.

The History Trust of South Australia introduced the Jennifer Cashmore Oration in 2021. It was repeated in 2023, last year, and I hope it returns in 2025. The trust captures perfectly the honour due to Ms Cashmore 28 years after she left parliament and 26 years after that bill was enacted. They said:

As a parliamentarian, Ms Cashmore was the critical figure of her time in cementing the transformative principle of patient consent to medical treatment that has shaped our modern societal responses. Her work from the opposition benches brought together all sides of politics to support major changes that culminated in the 1995 Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act. This became the foundation of our contemporary law on informed consent, advance care directives, medical powers of attorney, and palliative care.

So it has been my personal privilege to continue that work as the lead opposition spokeswoman on the Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Act 2023.

I think the link between Ms Cashmore's fight against big tobacco and pushing for compassionate end-of-life treatment can be no coincidence, culminating in her being named on the Australia Day Honours List in 1998 for service to the community, particularly in the areas of palliative care, women's issues, economic development and to the South Australian parliament.

Her biggest fight began in 1989, and it has been noted that she asked over 200 questions in this chamber about the State Bank before flags were being raised by men. People in this chamber today know just how hard it is in opposition to achieve that metric, just on one topic, and how long it takes. So two years of questions—and she was defiant, isolated and doubted by her own party and other politicians. She was unapologetic and she was right. At one point, as we have heard, she was ejected and named by the Speaker when the truth had to be told. It took two full years before her intuitive and instinctive line of questioning bore fruit. In 1989, Ms Cashmore pulled on a thread and by 1991 the Labor's 'nothing to see here' blanket unravelled.

Premier and Treasurer Bannon was forced to allow an investigation by JP Morgan confirming a $3 billion loss. A royal commission got underway and the SA Auditor-General Ken McPherson was instructed to investigate, delivering the final blow in 12 volumes by 1993.

The Bannon Labor government's credibility was in tatters. State-owned commercial enterprises were compromised and eventually the government had to embrace some version of privatisation to somehow reduce that state debt. They were not only dealing with the State Bank fallout but with other assets like SGIC, SATCO Timbercorp and SAGASCO. After this, an economic disaster and political failure, the Liberals went on to win a landslide election minus their Athena. Her doggedness remains the lesson for every opposition, and certainly for me. Keep asking questions even when you are the only one on the scent.

My thoughts on this sad day are extended to her friends, her family and her children—Justice Christine Adamson, Chaplain Stuart Adamson and Her Excellency the Governor the Honourable Frances Adamson. Vale Jennifer Cashmore.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:24): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It is an honour to also rise to honour the life and legacy of an extraordinary woman, the Honourable Jennifer Cashmore AM. In doing so, I offer my love and condolences to her remarkable family and to the many people who knew and loved her and the many who were strengthened and inspired by all that she stood for and sought to advance in this place and beyond. Jennifer's story is one of courage, perseverance and unwavering commitment to her values and the advancement and wellbeing of our state.

Jennifer Cashmore's journey into public service began in the 1970s, a time when, as we have heard, the participation of women in politics was extremely limited. Despite the societal barriers, the practical difficulties and the questionable attitudes about women and the roles they could and should play, Jennifer was undeterred and committed herself to making a difference.

Her political career advanced when she was elected as a member of this place for the Liberal Party in 1977, representing the electorate of Coles. During her time in office Jennifer was an excellent local member. I lived far from the electorate of Coles, but my husband spent his entire childhood and early adult years there and remembers well the visits by Jennifer to Thorndon High School, now Charles Campbell.

My husband is not someone who remembers scholarly achievements, nor indeed even fierce application to a particular subject, but he is definitely someone who remembers well those who made a mark on him and why—some extraordinary teachers, a footy coach here and there, and one particular regular visitor to his school, the then member for Coles, Jennifer Cashmore. My husband is also someone who is a Labor person through and through and always has been, but he remembers how Jennifer listened to students, and her interest in them and her calm, steadfast leadership and the way she wholeheartedly encouraged young people to also stand unwavering in and for their values.

Jennifer championed numerous causes, focusing particularly on health, welfare and the advancement of women's rights. She was a fierce proponent of equality of opportunity and fought to ensure that women had a stronger voice in the political and social arenas. As the third woman to be elected to this House of Assembly, she is rightly remembered as a trailblazer who opened doors for future generations of women leaders. Speaking to the lack of representation in this place, Jennifer said:

I am sure all members will acknowledge that deficiency should be remedied and that the time to remedy it is 1994, the centenary of women's suffrage.

She went on to say:

I look for the day when there are equal numbers of men and women in this chamber and in the meantime I look forward with happy anticipation to the hanging of the tapestries with the consent and approval of the house.

These commemorative tapestries to celebrate the Centenary of Women's Suffrage in South Australia are now, of course, proudly hanging in this space and, while I acknowledge how far we have come, we are still yet to meet that need for equal numbers of men and women in this place. I know that many of us will think of Jennifer as we strive toward that being so and I will certainly think of her when I look up at that beautiful tapestry, as I so often do, and contemplate how women, like Jennifer, continue to encourage us to stay the course on what matters, on what makes a difference in people's lives, no matter the challenges thrown in front of us.

Jennifer also made significant contributions to healthcare, with a focus on end-of-life care, care for the ageing and community health. As a supporter of a feminist health perspective, Jennifer listened to the views of women's groups in South Australia campaigning for separate women's health services. As Minister for Health, Jennifer worked tirelessly to gain support across government for this initiative and, in 1982, was given authority to request the South Australian Health Commission to develop a standalone women's health policy.

Beyond her political career, Jennifer Cashmore's influence extended into numerous community and charitable organisations, especially with a focus on health. Her commitment to public service did not ever wane after leaving politics. Instead, she continued to dedicate her time, passion and energy to causes close to her heart. Jennifer's work with organisations focused on health care and social welfare exemplified her lifelong dedication to helping and empowering others.

In recognition of her significant contributions, Jennifer was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia. This honour was a testament to her tireless efforts and the profound impact she had on her community and country. Jennifer's legacy is not just in the policies she helped shape but also in the countless lives she touched through her compassion and dedication.

When I say those words, I do of course think of our wonderful Governor of South Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC. Our state is blessed by Her Excellency's extraordinary intelligence, global perspective, unwavering focus on advancing gender equality, kindness, compassion and genuine care and concern for and interest in people and communities in every corner of our state. Our state is so blessed and strengthened by her leadership. Whilst Her Excellency is absolutely a woman who has strongly forged her own path, I have no doubt that she was empowered, encouraged and supported to do so—values firmly in her heart and mind by her remarkable mum.

Jennifer's Cashmore's commitment to public service and to living her values in all that she did is an inspiration to us all. Vale Jennifer. You will continue to inspire many of us long into the future. May you rest in peace, and may your children and grandchildren and all who love you know the respect with which you will always be held by everyone in our state and very far beyond.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:32): I rise to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the Hon. Jennifer Cashmore AM, former member of the House of Assembly and minister of the Crown. I had the honour of serving, as a commonwealth appointment, on the Centenary of Federation Advisory Committee with Jennifer in 1994. It was my first experience on a government committee, one which required considerable travel across Australia to draw on the views of the community through wideranging consultations. As often occurs on such committees, when you spend considerable time together, you get to learn a little about other members of the committee. From my own experiences, I can say that Jennifer was an intelligent, forward thinking, determined, principled and caring woman who was very kind to this young and somewhat naive committee member from the other side of politics.

A couple of years on, I shared a wonderful evening with Jennifer and her husband, Stewart Cockburn, at their home, where the future of journalism was a well-discussed topic. Stewart had been a senior reporter at The Advertiser at the time. Along with my Advertiser colleagues, we were facing a brewing dispute with News Limited. It is worth noting that, although the distance between one end of the spectrum of politics and the other may be far, there are some occasions when we can stand hand in hand.

While there were many challenges that Jennifer faced throughout her political career, being the only woman Liberal MP in the House of Assembly for the first 12 of her 16 years in state parliament, it did not deter her from recording significant achievements. We have already heard today about her significant role in exposing the position of the State Bank, her support of the tobacco products amendment bill, and advocacy for solar-powered energy and, of course, palliative care.

Jennifer was a leader committed to progressing that in which she believed, and so today in paying tribute to this extraordinary woman and acknowledging the valuable contribution she made, I want to finish in her own words from an article published in The Advertiser in 1994. She wrote:

I want a society in which my daughters can achieve as fully and freely as their male colleagues and their brother…What we have to address is the human perspective—the relationship between women and men at the personal, social and political level as a result of the change from a male-dominated society to a more balanced social structure. The quality of our future and the happiness of our children depends on how well we develop these relationships…justice and common sense, not gender, are the keys.

Vale the Hon. Jennifer Cashmore AM.

The SPEAKER: I would like to welcome to parliament today Her Excellency's husband, Mr Rod Bunten, and daughter, Ms Sophie Bunten. It is terrific to have you both here today. I would also like to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of former Premier, Dean Brown, the former member for Torrens, Michael Wilson, and the former member for Hartley, Joe Scalzi.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

The SPEAKER: The house will stand suspended until the ringing of the bells.

Sitting suspended from 15:37 to 15:46.

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